Shania Twain makes horseback arrival for Vegas gig

Shania Twain

Shania Twain makes her official arrival on horseback at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. Twain is set to begin a two-year residency at the Colosseum with her show "Shania: Still the One" starting Dec. 1. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jason Bean)

AP

KEN RITTER,Associated Press

Published: Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 7:39 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 7:39 a.m.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Country music star Shania Twain arrived on horseback Wednesday for a two-year headline gig at Caesars Palace, parading up the Las Vegas Strip with a herd of 40 horses.

Promoters called the event a stampede, but hooves were kept to a steady, slow gait by nine wranglers who escorted Twain to a reception crowd of several hundred people in front of the famous Caesars fountains. Dozens more people watched from the sidewalk of the Flamingo resort across Las Vegas Boulevard.

"We could either lose a few hundred dollars inside or come out and see what kind of spectacle she puts on," said Steve Huffman, a UPS manager from Charleston, W.Va., who watched with his wife, Debi, from an overhead pedestrian walkway.

The couple was in town for his 52nd birthday and learned through a Twitter message that Twain planned to arrive on a horse. They identified Twain's hit, "Man, I Feel Like a Woman," as the country singer rode up the street, and they said they'll plan to see the show next year.

"Still The One" blasted on speakers as Twain stepped onto a temporary outdoor stage near fountains made famous by events including daredevil Evel Knievel's motorcycle crash during a stunt on New Year's Eve 1967.

To some, Twain's arrival echoed singer Frank Sinatra's heralded arrival on a camel at the old Dunes hotel in September 1955.